routinesrules

Routines & Rules: Restorative Justice
Restorative Justice provides a way of thinking about crime/behaviour and presents a process for responding in a manner which restores relationships, leads to an integration of the wrongdoer back into the community and gives a voice to the victim. Restorative Justice gives an alternative framework for thinking about wrongdoing, and suggests new ways of responding to offending and victimisation.


Impact of the implementation of Restorative Justice in North Barvel Consolidated School
5.1 Findings

Retention and suspension figures;

	2003/2004	2004/2005	Reduction
Drop-outs	20	6	70%
Suspensions	63	41	35%

Restorative interventions

The following data identifies conflict situations where RJ approaches were successfully implemented at North Barvel Consolidated School. Success was identified as participants being able to move on from the situation.
Data collected from interviews and questionnaires also indicated:

• 96% of respondents found the process successful
• 98% of victims felt they were listened to
• 95% of wrongdoers felt they were listened to
• 74% of wrongdoers did not re-offend

5.2 Parents reported:

• They felt more listened to “Everyone had a chance to speak, I definitely felt listened to by the school and also my son”
• Felt more involved in the school community
• RJ approaches resulted in more positive contact with the school “its good when a phone call comes through now to tell you something good”
• Conferencing was a safe forum to communicate
• Transferring listening skills used in RJ approaches to home “it has helped us communicate better with our children at home too, trying to listen more instead of blaming”

5.3 Students reported:

• Conferencing was a more difficult process than traditional suspension – yet a safe space to communicate “it was hard but I was able to say what I wanted without someone telling me what to do, normally I was just told to go home”
• Confidence in problem sharing with adults who listened to them
• A tendency to react aggressively when shouted at “if someone shouts at me I just shout back louder”, “why should I have to listen to someone who won’t listen to me”
• Traditional suspensions resulted in negative labelling both at home and at school
• RJ intervention provides everyone with a second chance and following the process, young people have pride in themselves “I am proud now that I have changed the way I am at school”
• RJ intervention has allowed them to stay at school “Every year I was planning to leave, now I want to get a Leaving Cert and know that I will”